Velupillai Prabhakaran: His life, times and death

By M.R. Narayan Swamy New Delhi, May 18 (IANS) From Nov 26, 1954 to May 18, 2009 - the following is a chronological account of the life and times of Velupillai Prabhakaran, the Tamil Tigers chief who was killed Monday in the north of Sri Lanka:

1954 (Nov 26): Born in Jaffna in a Hindu middle class family, the youngest of two sons and two daughters.

1960-70s: Takes to militancy, indulges in minor acts of violence.

1972: Forms Tamil New Tigers (TNT), flees home for good.

1975: Assassinates Jaffna Mayor Alfred Duriappah at Hindu temple.

1976: TNT becomes Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

1978: LTTE issues first press statement.

1982: Arrested in Madras (now Chennai) after a shootout with a rival Tamil militant. Jailed, bailed, escapes to Sri Lanka.